On occasion I have wondered about Jesus as a child,
abiding with his nominal father, Joseph, and his mother, Mary. What was the
relationship? Were Joseph and Mary typical parents in their rearing of the
child Jesus? Were Joseph and Mary ever offended by actions of Jesus, the boy?
We know from Holy Scripture that Mary chided Jesus for
being lost to them at the Temple. Did Jesus, the boy, ever bother Joseph as he
prepared a piece of carpentry? Did Jesus play and in his playing knock over a
pot Mary was preparing as the main portion of that night’s dinner? In short,
did an occasion arise that might justify punishment within the Joseph the
carpenter household? This is not to say that Jesus did wrong intentionally but
to ask, as a child playing, did he inadvertently injure a project of his
parents that might warrant punishment?
Was it possible that the child Jesus was spanked for a
deed that angered either Joseph or Mary? Scripture states “spare the rod, and
spoil the child. Did Joseph ever apply the rod to Jesus in fatherly
admonishment for an inadvertent violation of the rules of the household? It
would seem that such punishment would be considered to be scripturally correct
parenting. [Compare to the approach of the Jewish sage, Dr. Spock.]
In Matthew 18:16 Jesus warned against “offending one of
these little ones.” He surely was primarily concerned with injuring the faith
of the child in him. However, he could also be recalling a punishment episode
in his boyhood, and, in effect, rewriting Old Testament wisdom. He might be
teaching his disciples that hitting a child does not strengthen faith between
child and parents; love, truth and honesty strengthen faith within a family one
unto another.
Still, if Joseph had in a state of temporary anger wrongly
spanked Jesus too hard, he may have offended the heavens.
In Matthew 18:10 [also see Mark 9:42, Luke 17:2] Jesus
said to his disciples to “take heed that ye despise not one of these little
ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face
of my Father which is in heaven. How much more would that apply to the child
Jesus?
Is it possible that Joseph lost control on one or more
occasions and struck Jesus with a rod to reprimand him for careless playing?
The life of Joseph might have been more pressured than normally perceived.
There was a possibility that an occasional doubt about Jesus arose in his mind.
Who was his father – really? Is it possible that Joseph offended the child
Jesus on occasion?
Such a parental punishment by Joseph of the child Jesus
may have been the trigger for heavenly reprimand of Joseph by means of a
premature death. Heavenly intervention had occurred in the case of the
Canaanite warrior Uriah, who was the victim of David’s machination, but who,
had he lived would have been in Jesus ancestral bloodline, which was
unthinkable.
Parenthetically, the reprobate minds that claim that
Jesus’ allusions to his “father in heaven” were to Joseph and not The Most High
cannot be tolerated and must be despised.
Still, I do believe that Joseph the carpenter died before
Jesus had reached the age of thirteen. He was last alluded to in scripture when
Jesus was twelve years old and with his parents in Jerusalem for an annual
matter.
What was Jesus doing between twelve and thirty years of
age?
I must acknowledge that I belong to the small group of
people who believes that Joseph of Arimathea was a close relative of Jesus –
possibly an uncle by blood. He, Joseph of Arimathea, may have occasionally been
alluded to in scripture, but biblical scholars assumed incorrectly that the
allusion was to Joseph the carpenter. It is even possible that Joseph the
carpenter died much earlier than even I have suggested.
Joseph of Arimathea was accounted in scripture and in
history as a “wealthy” man and a member of the Sanhedrin. As such, he was
probably allied with Nicodemus. The rich man who “would be perfect” may also have
been part of the Joseph-Nicodemus crowd of Israelites. No doubt they contended
with the Edomite-led Pharisees for the implementation of correct law and
policy.
Joseph of Arimathea has been cited as a high official
within the Roman Empire’s economics sphere, operating and/or overseeing some
mining operations in England and perhaps Iberia as well. At the minimum he was
a man with official authority to operate/oversee mining – probably tin – in parts
of southern England near York. Therefore, Joseph of Arimathea was probably
wealthy from the mining of tin and was something of a merchant lord.
It might be well to state that trade was a well-developed
craft in the Holy Lands long pre-dating the advent of Jesus. Ships and caravans
routinely travelled to distant lands for purpose of trade.
If Joseph of Arimathea had cause to be the guardian of
the child Jesus, due to the premature death of Joseph the carpenter, which
might well be natural if Jesus was his nephew or grand-nephew, then the boy
Jesus would often see his important, wealthy guardian. It may well be that
Joseph of Arimathea owned an estate which included vineyards. No doubt, these
would have impressed the boy Jesus. This environment may well have set the
stage for Jesus’ subsequent enjoyment of wine.
I personally believe that, as Jesus matured in his teen
years, he was allowed to travel with Joseph of Arimathea as Joseph pursued his
mining and trading interests. It is also possible that Joseph owned a ship to
use in his trade missions. Undoubtedly, if Mary allowed Jesus to travel, it was
on a gradual basis. At first Jesus was allowed to go on short trips and, in
time, more lengthy trips were allowed.
If my belief is correct, Jesus may well have set foot in
southern England, accompanying his guardian, Joseph of Arimathea. Therefore,
the answer to the English poet, William Blake, would be affirmative.
If Jesus made several lengthy voyages on a ship owned by
or leased to Joseph of Arimathea, he would be afforded the opportunity of “rubbing
shoulders with” the ship’s crew of seamen. Joseph might well be their boss as
the owner or, if leased, at least an important merchant. Hence, the seamen
aboard would know in time who the young man Jesus was. Jesus would be treated
well. In fact there would be every reason to suppose that Jesus developed a
fondness for these brave, hardworking men who nevertheless were “game” for a
joke or some other fun, when time was available. These seamen would be rough
sorts that the yuppie crowd in contemporary America would avoid at all costs.
Jesus certainly would have experienced fearsome storms at
sea.
In thinking about the life of Jesus and especially his
ministry, one may well be struck by Jesus’ affinity for the sea. It might well
be said that the sea was his familiar neighborhood. When he began his ministry,
Jesus was drawn to water. He chose fishermen at first to be his disciples.
Repeatedly, Jesus travelled to the seacoast for purposes of preaching and
otherwise. When relaxing, he often enjoyed the company of rough men and “sinners”
to such a degree that Pharisees challenged him on the issue of the company he
kept. For Jesus the company of these people brought back many happy times spent
on his guardian’s ship with its crew.
Not only did Jesus seek the sea to “soothe his soul,”
when the occasion arose for a storm at sea with Peter and Andrew, he wasn’t fazed.
He slept through a fearsome storm. As a lad, he must have encountered many
turbulent moments at sea, so the storm that frightened Peter would be a
familiar event for Jesus. I state this hypothesis not meaning to lessen the
tranquility that arose from Jesus’ faith.
Ostensibly not a fisherman, Jesus seemed to know a lot
about fish. On his guardian’s ship he would have many occasions for the seamen
to teach him the craft of fishing. Repeatedly, Jesus turned to fish as a tool
for a miracle in his ministry. Water was also used, even if in the form of
spit.
Not only do readers of the New Testament note the use of
the sea in Jesus’ ministry, but frequently he developed parables whose messages
were clothed in events that involved a wealthy merchant or lord of a vineyard.
I believe that Jesus’ relationship with Joseph of Arimathea provided the
background for such imagery. Jesus had virtually lived with such a lord.
Going back to Joseph the carpenter, I want to make the
point that his influence on the mind of Jesus is completely invisible. At no
point in Jesus’ ministry did he illustrate a point by reference to carpentry.
Jesus does not speak of the tools of the carpenter in making a point. If Joseph’s
craft as a carpenter had any influence over Jesus, why did he not use the
imagery of the carpenter’s tools, construction or working materials to make his
points? There’s no there, there!
Some may wonder why carpentry has been adhered to the
lifestyle of Jesus, especially in the last few hundred years. I believe that
the influence of Freemasons accounts for much of it. Freemasons fancy
themselves to be “builders,” although philosophically it is themselves that
they hope to “reconstruct.” Since they have infiltrated between 30% and 60% of
the major Protestant denominations, they have achieved excellent vantage point
for influencing imagery. [“My Boss Is A Jewish Carpenter,” etc.] In the lodges
of the Great Architect the mention of Jesus and Christianity have been
discouraged, according to people in a position to know. Positive commentary
such as “Jesus was the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the World” frowned upon,
if not forbidden under pain of death.
At one time when the masonic lodges were the meeting
place of actual members of the masonry trade, lodge laws typically included
clear statements that they were defenders of Jesus Christ. This ended
completely when “philosophical” infiltration took over the old masonry lodges.
A new order was developed. References to the Old Testament – especially symbolically
– abounded, but the name of “Jesus” was left out in the cold.
One may recall Matthew 21:42: “Jesus saith…The stone
which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner:” [See
also Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17]
Holy Scripture is a wonderful thing to see, for those
with eyes to see.
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